How to present the case for sustainability

Big Bucks advertising and marketing have got it down. They know how to begin marketing to someone at a very early age. They know that the wording of a slogan matters. They know that how you phrase an ad changes people perception. They know the colors and symbols used evoke emotion and connection. We should be using the same effective principles when we’re trying to help people to understand the new ideas and creativity we need to see in our world.

Too much of the green movement and those driving sustainability have been operating by making documentaries, writing books and doing talks. If that were the best way to get a product or concept to be purchased and believed in, well you’d have tons of pro-Wal-Mart documentaries. The bookshelves would be lined with books about Target being the solution. Scientific conference sessions would be dedicated to Nikes conforming perfectly to the feet of most humans. But you don’t see that. My intuition tells me that one of the reasons those tactics are not primary to corporations is because they don’t create a big demand in a short period of time.

We need to learn from this. We, as in those of us who are interested in the sustainability of the planet. We need to take a lesson from the corporations who have been so effective in getting their goods and products into our minds. We need to market positivity and transformation in a way to generate ‘fanatic evangelists’ for these life sustaining practices. Gloom and doom, end of the world, ‘you need to change’, and non-interactive mediums will not create vibrantly alive communities. Interactive, hands-on, culturally aware, co-created approaches will.

‘How?’ You ask. Well that’s something for me to continue writing about, and for you to hire me to implement. Check back in as these ideas unfold through my writing and feel free to share your thoughts via commenting.